EARS 40 Materials of the Earth
This course will prepare students for the Earth Sciences FSP and for further study in Earth Sciences. It consists of two integrated modules, structural geology and earth materials. In the Structural Geology component, students will learn how to observe and analyze the arrangement of rock units in order to gain insight into the chronology of events occurring in the geological past and the implications for kinematics (e.g., plate tectonic history) and dynamics (e.g., origin and evolution of tectonic forces). Practical skills include making and analyzing geological maps, constructing cross-sections, and analyzing three-dimensional geological data and geometries. In the Earth Materials component, students will develop an understanding of the nature and formation of solid-earth's raw materials in the context of earth's major tectonic, petrologic, hydrologic and biogeochemical systems. This will involve an understanding of the nomenclature of materials and their textures, and systems of classification, the physical and chemical properties of earth materials, associations and occurrences, and an understanding of processes of formation of earth materials resources. Field (hand-and outcrop-scale) and petrographic microscope- based laboratory procedures will be introduced. Field excursions.
Instructor
Meyer